Multi-unit carrier package for cylindrical cans



July 12, 1966 F A. CHIDSEY, JR. ETAL 3,260,361

MULTI-UNIT CARRIER PACKAGE FOR CYLINDRICAL CANS Filed May 17, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l fizzzezzfira' Funds 4. Hali x: 5 w Zflz'ZZz'am Cfiksselo July 12, 1966 F. A. CHIDSE Y, JR., ETAL 3,260,361

MULTI-UNIT CARRIER PACKAGE FOR CYLINDRICAL CANS Filed May 17, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ira/6212 673 fianc'z'sa'z'ds'qykfir w William CfjYczsseZa United States Patent 3,260,361 MULTI-UNIT CARRIER PACKAGE FUR CYLllNDRICAL CANS Francis A. Chidsey, Jr., Devon, and William C. Hasselo, Berwyn, Pa., assignors to Container Corporation of America, Chicago, IlL, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 17, 1965, Ser. No. 456,168 6 Claims. (Cl. 20665) This invention relates to a sleeve-type can carrier having a unitary blank of paperboard folded around a group of cans and dimensioned to provide that the end cans project outwardly beyond the end edges of the sleeve.

An object of this invention is to provide in a can carrier having a paperboard sleeve that does not extend the length of the rows of cans in the sleeve with means for increasing the holding of the end cans within the sleeve and for securing and holding the sleeve together.

A more detailed object of this invention is to provide in a sleeve-type paperboard carrier where the end edges of the sleeve traverse the enclosed end cans with a specially contoured bottom panel having spaced semicircular end edges to complement and overlap completely the corresponding bottoms of the end cans.

An additional object of this invention is to provide in a sleeve-type paperboard carrier for holding two rows of cans and having adjacent blank ends sections including coplanar end panels covering corresponding ends of the cans with an improved glue connection between the end sections formed by glue panels hinged to the end panels medially of the rows and folded in facial contact with one another between the cans to define a butted glue joint and by a flap construction cut from one end section to lap in facial contact with the adjacent end section to define a lapped glue joint.

These and other objects will be more apparent after reviewing the specification and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, having a can partially broken away, of a can carrier in which a first embodiment of this invention is disclosed;

FIG. 2 is the blank used to form the can carrier disclosed in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views as seen generally from lines 3-3 and 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the top panel of a can carrier, the cans being removed, of a second embodiment of the subject invention;

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of the opposite end sections of the blank used to form the carrier disclosed in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view as generally seen from line 77 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the top panel of a can carrier, the cans being removed, of a third embodiment of the subject invention;

FIG. 9 is a partial plan view of the opposite end sections of the blank used to form the carrier disclosed in FIG. 8.

Referring now to the drawings for a detailed description of the subject invention, carrier 10 is shown in FIG. 1 to include a paperboard blank 12 folded as a sleeve about a group of cans 14 arranged in two parallel rows. FIG. 2 shows the blank to include a central bottom panel 16; side panels 18 hinged to opposite sides of the central Cir 3,260,351 Patented July 12, 1%66 panel on parallel hinge lines 17; top panels 20 and 20a hinged to the opposite edges of side panels 18 on hinge lines 19; and tuck-in retaining strips of T-bar panels 22, 24, and 26, hinged respectively and successively along hinge lines 21, 23, and 25 to top panels 20 and 20a and to each other.

The carrier is formed by folding the side and top panels about the can group and by folding the T-bar panels 22, 24, and 26 on one another and between the two rows of cans in face to face relation so that the outer faces of panels 22 abut one another. The adjacent faces of panels 22 are coated with an appropriate adhesive for forming a butted glue joint to maintain the tubular blank snug about the can group. The finger openings 28 in the top panels and between the separate T-bar panels provide ready handle means for the carrier. The cans are enclosed within the tubular blank in two parallel rows, with the end cans of each row extending beyond the blank a significant amount. Infolded tabs 29 are struck from the end panels, as is well known in the art, for engaging the recessed end of the can and the generally upright shoulder on the can.

To help keep the end sections of the blank secured, particularly during the period when the glue joint is setting, fiap 30 is cut from the panel 22 and hinged on hinge line 21 to the top panel 20a. The flap is extended in the same planar direction as its connecting panel 20a to overlap the adjacent top panel 20. By applying adhesive between the panel 20 and flap 30 a lapped glue joint is formed that is subjected to sheer rather than to tension as is the butted glue joint between the panels 22. Even though some area between the butted panels 22 is sacrificed by forming the flap 30, the lapped glue joint acting in sheer gives additional strength to the carrier as compared to that if only the butted joint were used.

A second embodiment is disclosed in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, and diifers from the previous carrier only in that the central glue panels 1220 and 1230 do not have hinged thereto the T-bar panels 124 and 126 as do the end glue strips 122 and 123. Thus, panel 123c fits between the rows of cans while panel 1220 connected to panel a overlaps top panel 120.

A third embodiment is disclosed in FIGS. 8 and 9 that is quite similar to the carrier of FIG. 5. Note that in this embodiment flaps 230 are formed from the abutting end panel 222a and hinged to panel 220a to overlap the adjacent top panel 220. Thus, there are three areas .of a lapped glue joint between the joined opposite end sections of the blank 212.

One additional feature of the subject carrier is the contoured bottom panel 16 to help retain the cans within the sleeve, especially the recently introduced aluminum cans that are seamless and have unchimed lower end portions. The aluminum can has sides that merely curve at the bottom throughout an angle greater than 90 but less than to provide a circular bottom rim 40 that in turn blends rather smoothly with a concave end closure 42. As can be seen in FIG. 3, retaining tab 29 cannot find a sharp recess into which it can seat properly to hold the can. As such, since a significant part of the end can projects beyond the end edge of the sleeve, any time someone attempts to lift the carrier by grasping the top and bottom ends of one of the end cans, there is a strong tendency to pull the can from the carrier. The disclosed bottom panel has semi-circular extensions 35 that are sized and spaced apart to overlap the bottoms of the cans completely. Anyone lifting the carrier in the manner noted above thus grips the blank itself to relieve the pulling force acting on the end cans.

It might be noted that since the bottom ends of the cans do not have the radially enlarged chimes as do the top ends of the can, it is desirable to make the bottom panel slightly narrower than the combined width of the top panels. Infolded tabs 46 can be used between the cans to separate them.

While only a single embodiment of the subject invention has been disclosed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other modifications can be made. Accordingly, it is desired that the invention be limited only by the scope of the claims following.

What is claimed is:

1. A wraparound carrier formed of a unitary blank of foldable paperboard for enclosing, in two parallel rows, a plurality of cans each of which has a chimed recessed end at the top and a chimeless, generally rounded, recessed concave end at the bottom, said carrier comprising in combination:

(a) opposed top and bottom end walls and side walls hingedly interconnected to form an open ended tubular structure enclosing the cans, the side and top end walls being smaller in dimension than the length of the rows to permit part of each end can to project past the end edges of these walls;

(b) the top end wall including two coplanar end wall panels having adjacent edges meeting between the rows;

(c) connecting panels hinged, at said adjacent edges, to the end wall panels and extended normally to said end wall panels into the carrier between said rows of cans and bonded together in face-to-face relation to form a butted glue section;

(d) a flap struck from one of the connecting panels of the butted glue section and hinged, at said adjacent edge of its corresponding one end wall panel, to said one end wall panel and extended over the adjacent other end wall panel and bonded thereto to define a lapped glue section;

(e) retaining tabs struck from the end walls to present edges abutting the recessed ends of the cans for retaining the cans longitudinally within the carrier;

(f) the bottom end wall having its end edges contoured to follow the generally circular bottom of the end cans disposed over it to provide paperboard against which the bottom of each end can abuts even though the remaining portions of the can project beyond the remaining end edges of the carrier walls.

2. A wraparound carrier formed of a unitary blank of foldable paperboard for enclosing, in two parallel rows, a plurality of cans each of which has a chimed recessed end at the top and a chimeless, generally rounded, recessed concave end at the bottom, said carrier comprising in combination:

(a) opposed top and bottom end walls and side walls hingedly interconnected to form an open ended tubular structure enclosing the cans, the side and top end walls being smaller in dimension than the length of the rows to permit part of each end can to project past the end edges of these walls;

(b) one of the end walls including two coplanar end wall panels having adjacent edges meeting between the rows;

(c) connecting panels hinged, at said adjacent edges, to the end wall panels and extended from said end wall panels into the carrier between said rows of cans and bonded together in face-to-face relation to form a butted glue section;

((1) a flap struck from one of the connecting panels of the butted glue section and hinged to its corresponding one end wall panel, and extended over the adjacent other end wall panel and bonded thereto to define a lapped glue section;

(e) retaining means integral with the walls of the carrier for retaining the cans longitudinally within the carrier;

(f) the bottom end wall having its end edges contoured to follow the generally circular bottom of the end cans disposed over it to provide paperboard against which the bottom of each end can abuts even though the remaining portions of the can project beyond the remaining end edges of the carrier walls.

3. A wraparound carrier formed of a unitary blank of foldable paperboard for enclosing, in two parallel rows, a plurality of cans, said carrier comprising in combination:

(a) opposed top and bottom end walls and side walls hingedly interconnected to form an open ended tubular structure enclosing the cans;

(b) one of the end walls including two coplanar end wall panels having adjacent edges meeting between the rows;

(0) connecting panels hinged, at said adjacent edges, to the end wall panels and extended from said end wall panels into the carrier between said rows of cans and bonded together in tace-to-face relation to form a butted glue section;

(d) a fiap struck from one of the connecting panels of the butted glue section and hinged, at said adjacent edge, to its corresponding one end wall panel, and extended over the adjacent other end wall panel and bonded thereto to define a lapped glue section.

4. A wraparound carrier formed of a unitary blank of foldable paperboard for enclosing, in two parallel rows, a plurality of cans, said carrier comprising in combination:

(a) opposed top and bottom end walls and side walls hingedly interconnected to form an open ended tubular structure enclosing the cans;

(b) one of the end walls including two coplanar end wall panels having adjacent edges meeting between the rows;

(0) connecting panels hinged, at said adjacent edges, to the end wall panels and extended from said end wall panels into the carrier between said rows of cans and bonded together in face-to-face relation to form a butted glue section;

(d) a flap hinged to one end wall panel and extended over the adjacent other end wall panel and bonded thereto to define a lapped glue section.

5. A wraparound carrier according to claim 4, wherein at least two connecting panels are hinged to each end wall and are separated from one another between the adjacent cans by a gap as large as a persons finger, and wherein at least one of the coplanar end wall panels has an opening formed therein between the adjacent cans and communicating with the gap to provide for a finger opening for lifting the carrier.

6. A multi-unit package including a wraparound carrier formed of a unitary blank of foldable paperboard holding, in two parallel rows, a plurality of cylindrical cans each of which has a chimed top with a recessed end and a chimeless bottom with a rounded edge, said carrier comprising in combination;

(a) opposed pairs of top and bottom walls and side walls hingedly interconnected to form a tubular structure with open ends;

(b) said side and top walls each having a length which is less than the length of a row of cans to expose side and top portions of the end cans of each row;

(c) retaining means integral with certain walls of the carrier for preventing the accidental removal of the cans from the open ends of the carrier;

(d) said bottom wall having end portions projecting beyond the ends of the top and side walls with end edges contoured to correspond to the generally cir- 5 cular contour of the bottoms of the end cans to completely cover the bottoms of the end cans to prevent their aocidental removal from the open ends of the carrier when the carrier is lifted by grasping the top and bottom of an end can.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 25,111 1/1962 Cote 206--65 2,911,096 11/1959 Andre 206-65 10 6 2,963,148 12/1960 Cote 20665 3,083,825 4/1963 Laasen 22940 3,156,404 11/1964 Wood 220-113 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,318,732 1/1963 France.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. I. F. MCNULTY, D. F. NORTON, Assistant Examiners. 

6. A MULTI-UNIT PACKAGE INCLUDING A WRAPAROUND CARRIER FORMED OF A UNITARY BLANK OF FOLDABLE PAPERBOARD HOLDING, IN TWO PARALLEL ROWS, A PLURALITY OF CYLINDRICAL CANS EACH OF WHICH HAS A CHIMED TOP WITH A RECESSED END AND A CHIMELESS BOTTOM WITH A ROUNDED EDGE, SAID CARRIER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION; (A) OPPOSED PAIRS OF TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS AND SIDE WALLS HINGEDLY INTERCONNECTED TO FORM A TUBULAR STRUCTURE WITH OPEN ENDS; (B) SAID SIDE AND TOP WALLS EACH HAVING A LENGTH WHICH IS LESS THAN THE LENGTH OF A ROW OF CANS TO EXPOSE SIDE AND TOP PORTIONS OF THE END CANS OF EACH ROW; (C) RETAINING MEANS INTEGRAL WITH CERTAIN WALLS OF THE 